What is the IMRaD Format?

IMRaD is an acronym for Introduction – Method – Results – and – Discussion. The

IMRaD (often pronounced “im-rad”) format is most commonly used format in scientific article
and journal writing and is used widely across most scientific and research fields.

Format
1. Times New Roman Font 12
2. Single spacing
3. Justified
4. Margin: 1” all sides
5. Section Headings:
Main Section Headings: Each main section of the paper begins with a heading which
should be capitalized, emboldened, left justified, and double spaced from the lines above
and below. Do not underline the section heading OR put a colon at the end.
Subheadings: Subheadings should be capitalized (first letter in each word), left justified,
and either bold italics OR underlined.
6. In-text citation: Author-date system
7. Pagination: Bottom of page, right side
8. Recommended number of Tables: 5, Figures: 5
9. Recommended number of pages: 15-25 excluding appendices

Sections of the Research Paper

Title: Centered in an inverted position, capital letters, bold, 8 – 15 words

Author/s: listed in alphabetical order, italicized; School/Department

Abstract: 250 – 300 words

Keywords: not more than 5, italicized

Introduction: 1500 – 3000 words

Materials and Method (experimental designs)/ Methodology (non-experimental designs): 500

– 1000 words

Results and Discussion: 1500 – 3000 words

Conclusion and Recommendations: 250-500 words

References: Use the latest edition of the appropriate format-APA, MLA, CSE…

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 “TITLE OF THE STUDY SHOULD BE CENTERED
IN INVERTED PYRAMID”
Should preferably answer the following questions: What will be researched? How will
the topic be researched? With whom – describes the research population and units of
measurement; Where/in what context will the study be conducted?

Authors are Listed

Here in Alphabetical
Order and Italicized

ABSTRACT

This is the last part of the paper that is to be written. The Abstract helps readers decide whether
they want to read the rest of the paper, or it may be the only part they can obtain via electronic
literature searches or in published abstracts. Therefore, enough key information (e.g., summary
results, observations, trends, etc.) must be included to make the Abstract useful to someone who
may to reference your work. A simple rule-of-thumb is to imagine that you are another researcher
doing a study similar to the one you are reporting. If your Abstract was the only part of the paper
you could access, would you be happy with the information presented there? Kotze (2007)
recommend that an abstract should include the following seven elements: Element 1: The
abstract has to start with a brief theme sentence to orient the reader about the over-all issue
addressed in the article. The sentence should grab the reader’s attention. Element 2: The
abstract should then indicate the main aim or objective of the study. Element 3: The academic
or practical importance of the study should be explained. Element 4: The methodology used in
the study should be briefly described. Element 5: The main findings of the study should be
summarized. Element 6: A statement of conclusions should indicate the contribution made by
the study in filling gaps in the literature. Element 7: Finally, the practical implications of the
study’s findings should be highlighted where appropriate. The recommendation may be included
only if it is necessary to emphasize the possible benefits or possible considerations for future
studies. The abstract should NOT contain any figures, tables or in-text references, just normal
text. In-text references may, however, be included when one is replicating a previous study and
this is specifically mentioned in the abstract. Don't use abbreviations in the abstract.

Keywords: (Include five words that will help classify the study so that when researchers look for
related literatures your paper may be classified accordingly.) Suggested list of keywords: Topic,
Sub-topics, Methods, Population, Locale

INTRODUCTION

Begin your Introduction by clearly identifying the subject area of interest. Do this by using
key words from your Title in the first few sentences of the Introduction to get it focused directly
on topic at the appropriate level. This insures that you get to the primary subject matter quickly
without losing focus, or discussing information that is too general. The structure of the
Introduction can be thought of as an inverted triangle – the broadest part at the top representing
the most general information and focusing down to the specific problem you studied.

Literature Review
Establish the context by providing a brief and balanced review of the pertinent published
literature that is available on the subject. Discuss the relevant primary research literature (with
citations) and summarize current understanding of the problem you are investigating (often, we
call this a literature review and it may even merit having its own section). Emphasize problems
or gaps in knowledge (what don’t we know yet or need to know? what does the field still need to
understand? what’s been left out of previous research? is this a new issue that needs some
direction?).
What literature should you look for in your review of what we know about the problem?
Focus your efforts on the primary research journals - the journals that publish original research
articles. Although you may read some general background references (encyclopedias, textbooks,
lab manuals, style manuals, etc.) to get yourself acquainted with the subject area, do not cite

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these, because they contain information that is considered fundamental or "common" knowledge
within the discipline. Cite, instead, articles that reported specific results relevant to your study.
Learn, as soon as possible, how to find the primary literature (research journals) and review
articles rather than depending on reference books.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework/Paradigm of the Study

Given the identified knowledge gap, what concepts can be used to address it. What
theories, principles, laws may be integrated in designing your study or which will guide the
conduct of your study?

Significance of the Study

Briefly explain your rationale and approach and, whenever possible, the possible outcomes
your study can reveal. This section must be guided by the following questions: What benefits
can be derived from your study? How will the community of interest benefit from it? What about
benefits that decision makers and policy makers can derive from your study? What benefits can
you derive as a researcher or as a part of a specific organization?

Objectives of the Study

It is most usual to place the statement of purpose near the end of the Introduction, often
as the topic sentence of the final paragraph. It is NOT necessary (or even desirable) to use the
words "hypothesis" or "null hypothesis", since these are usually implicit if you clearly state your
purpose and expectations. Mention here the aim of the study and the specific objectives. The
specific objectives are those that you will actually measure. The objectives may be presented in a
bulleted list and should be phrased in the form:
“To determine…”
“To investigate…”
“To evaluate…”
“To compare…”

MATERIALS AND METHOD (for experimental designs)/METHODOLOGY (for non-

experimental designs)

The research methods section can go any number of different directions, depending on
the type of research you conducted. Regardless of what you did for your research, though, this
section needs to be very clear, very specific, very detailed, and only focused on research. Use
your method chapter to show that you arrived at your results by applying valid and reliable
methods. Explain what you did; your research, treatment or professional intervention, and how
you did it. The style in this section should read as if you were verbally describing the conduct of
the experiment/study. You may use the active voice to a certain extent, although this section
requires more use of third person, passive constructions than others. Avoid the use of the first
person in this section. Use the future tense for your proposal while the past tense for the final
paper. The Methods section is not a step-by-step, directive, protocol as you might see in a
laboratory manual.

Study Design
Is the study qualitative? Or quantitative? Specifically, what qualitative/quantitative
design is utilized? Do not define the design. Rather, explain how the variables in your study fits
into the design.

Sample/Population of the Study

Discuss the characteristics of the target population. Are there inclusion and exclusion
criteria that must be considered? If you did sampling, how did you arrive at the sample size? How
did you recruit the participants of the study? If dealing with non-humans, how did you collect
the samples? What authentication procedures were considered?

Data Gathering Tools (May be subheaded as Materials for experimental designs)

Describe what materials, subjects, and equipment (chemicals, experimental animals,
apparatus, etc.) you used (these may be subheaded Animals, Reagents, etc.). What research tools
did you use? What are the parts? What are some considerations or steps undertaken to ensure

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validity and reliability? What are the parts of the tools that you used? Are they adopted from
another source? If yes, then cite properly.

Data Gathering Procedures (May be subheaded as Methods or Procedures for experimental

designs)
In a methodical manner describe the steps that were undertaken. Explain the steps you
took in your experiment. What communications need were given out? Was there permission
from certain authorities? How did you gather the data? How did you distribute and retrieve the
questionnaires? How did you conduct the interview? How long did the data gathering last?

Treatment of Data
Describe how the data were summarized and analyzed. Here you will indicate what types
of data summaries and analyses were employed to answer each of the questions or hypotheses
tested. Did you compute means? Did you simply use frequencies, ratios, percentages? Did you do
statistical treatment? If yes, what? You should also indicate the statistical procedures used to
analyze your results, including the probability level at which you determined significance
(usually at 0.05 probability).

Ethical Considerations
The following must be explicitly discussed in the paper: how anonymity and voluntary
participation of the informants/participants were respected throughout the study (if
informants/participants opted for non-disclosure of identity); how confidentiality of information
was insured (if informants/participants opted for non-disclosure of information), how risk
management measures/strategies for participants, researchers and auxiliary personnel were
adopted by the researcher; how informants/participants were selected using non-discriminatory
criteria and processes (unless inclusion and exclusion criteria are justifiable based on the nature
of the study); and how the findings of the study will be disseminated to the beneficiaries.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Present the results of your study according to the sequence of your objectives. Results
may be presented in textual, graphical, tabular, textual and graphical, or textual and tabular. In
general, you need to introduce this portion with a description of how the flow of discussion is
presented. Then for each table or graph/figure, have an introduction of the specific topic being
addressed by your table, present the table (Table 1 shows the summary of findings on…), show
the table, discuss the significant or striking data to come up with valid information. Support your
findings with corroborations (relate it with previous studies). Sometimes though, the findings
may negate findings in previous researches. You may cite those as well but try to infer what
information can be derived from these contrasting findings. You may also include here some
limitations encountered in your study. Report negative results - they are important! If you did
not get the anticipated results, it may mean your hypothesis was incorrect and needs to be
reformulated, or perhaps you have stumbled onto something unexpected that warrants further
study. Moreover, the absence of an effect may be very telling in many situations. In any case,
your results may be of importance to others even though they did not support your hypothesis.
Do not fall into the trap of thinking that results contrary to what you expected are necessarily
"bad data". If you carried out the work well, they are simply your results and need interpretation.
Many important discoveries can be traced to "bad data".
Summaries of the statistical analyses may appear either in the text (usually
parenthetically) or in the relevant Tables or Figures (in the legend or as footnotes to the Table
or Figure). The Results section should be organized around Tables and/or Figures that should
be sequenced to present your key findings in a logical order. The text of the Results section
should be crafted to follow this sequence and highlight the evidence needed to answer the
questions/hypotheses you investigated. Important negative results should be reported, too.
Authors usually write the text of the results section based upon the sequence of Tables and
Figures.

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TABLES (Maximum of 5)
Tables usually show numerical value or textual information and are almost always
characterized by a row-column structure. Use tables for the purpose of simplifying text. A table
with 2 or fewer columns and rows should be presented in text format instead of a table.

 Number tables sequentially (i.e.if you have more than one table in your writing) e.g. Table
1, Table 2 .....
 Table legends go above the Table; tables are read from top to bottom.
 Table is never abbreviated, e.g., Table 1.
 Each table must be referred to in the text, using a capital T, for example: ...as shown in
Table 1.
 Ensure that your table title is brief but explanatory. Italicize the table title. Do not
italicize the table number. The title is placed directly above the table itself and below the
table number.
 Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of all headings. If a word is a proper noun,
however, be sure to capitalize the first letter anyway.
 Explain abbreviations, symbols etc.
 Acknowledge the source of the table.
 Use Times New Roman font 10 for tabular entries.
 Tables may be submitted either single or double spaced. Consider readability.
 Number tables in the order they are first mentioned in text. Do not write “the table above”
or “the table below.”
 Be consistent in the formatting and vocabulary of all tables when writing a paper.
 Standard abbreviations and symbols, such as % or no. may be used in headings without
further explanation.
 Ensure each column has a heading.
 Notes are placed below the table.
 If the table is from another source, include a note below the table specifying whether it is
from another source or adapted from another source. e.g. “Note. From….” OR “Note.
Adapted from…” OR “Note. The data in column 1 are from…”
 See Table 1 as a guide to the formatting of a table. This table is an example from the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2001, p. 149). The fictitious general
note has been included as an example.

FIGURES (Maximum of 5)
A figure is any type of illustration other than a table (chart, graph, photograph, or
drawing).
Use figures to complement information in text or to simplify text.
 Number figures in the order they are first mentioned in text. Do not write “the figure
above” or “the figure below.”

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  Figures should be large enough to read easily (between 8 point and 14 point font) and
convey only essential information.
 Ensure that figures are simple, clear and consistent in presentation and vocabulary.
 Ensure data are plotted accurately and the grid scale is proportioned.
 Place labels close to the identified item.
 Axis labels on graphs should be parallel to their axes.
 Captions include the figure title and a brief, but descriptive, explanation of the figure.
 Double-space the caption and place it below the figure.
 Figure legends go below the figure; figures are usually viewed from bottom to top.
 When referring to a Figure from the text, "Figure" is abbreviated as Fig., for example,
Fig. 1.
 The following figure and note are each adapted from the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (APA, 2001, pp. 182-183).

WHAT TO AVOID
 Do not reiterate each value from a Figure or Table - only the key result or trends that
each conveys.
 Do not present the same data in both a Table and Figure - this is considered redundant
and a waste of space and energy. Decide which format best shows the result and go with
it.
 Do not report raw data values when they can be summarized as means, percents, etc.
 Always report your results with parenthetical reference to the statistical conclusion that
supports your finding (if statistical tests are being used in your course).
 This parenthetical reference should include the statistical test used and the level of
significance (test statistic and DF are optional).
 Two notes about the use of the word significant(ly). In scientific studies, the use of this
word implies that a statistical test was employed to make a decision about the data; in this
case the test indicated a larger difference in mean heights than you would expect to get
by chance alone. Limit the use of the word "significant" to this purpose only.
 If your parenthetical statistical information includes a p-value that is significant, it is
unnecessary (and redundant) to use the word "significant" in the body of the sentence (see
example above).

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The conclusion may be written with a separate subheading from the recommendations,
but it is acceptable to have the conclusion and recommendations in one paragraph if the
statements of the conclusion and recommendation warrant the need for continuity of thoughts.
In formulating your conclusion, be guided by the following questions: What answer(s) have you
found to your research question? If you have a hypothesis, has it been strengthened, weakened
or falsified? Do not introduce issues here that have not been mentioned earlier. If the results of
your study do not allow you to draw any conclusions, you can end with a summing up.

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Acknowledgement

Acknowledge only those who have directly contributed to the study. If there are technical
consultants (technical advisers*, statistician, English editors, etc.) who are not part of the
approval body (see front page of this manuscript), this is where you acknowledge them. If there
are institutions or agencies that gave financial support or grants, please include them here. Each
entity (person or agency) that you include here should be enumerated in separate paragraphs. Be
concise with your words of gratitude (not too flowery). Just state the entity you are thanking and
their corresponding contributions. Please do not forget to award certificates of appreciation to
these entities you mentioned in this portion if they were unpaid.

REFERENCES

References are to be listed at the end of the paper in alphabetical order of the last names
of the first authors and referred in the text by the last name and the year of publication.
The following are examples of proper form of APA style and for further details, please
visit www.apastyle.org/
Journal articles
Raghavan, M. A., Silvapulle, P. B. & Athanasopoulos, G.B. (2012). Structural VAR models for
Malaysian monetary policy analysis during the pre-and-post 1997 Asian crisis period.
Applied Economics, 44(29), 3841-3856.

Books
Mook, D. (2004). Classic experiments in psychology. Westport, CT: Greenwood.

Electronic Book
Marlatt, G. A., & Witkiewitz, K. (Eds.). (2009). Addictive behaviors: new readings on etiology,
prevention, and treatment. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/psycbooks/index.aspx

Chapter in book
Ramsey, J. K., & McGrew, W. C. (2005). Object play in great apes: studies in nature and captivity.
In A. D. Pellegrini & P.K. Smith (Eds.), The nature of play: Great apes and humans (pp.
89-112). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Chapter in electronic book

Branch, S., Ramsay, S., & Barker, M. (2008). The bullied boss: a conceptual exploration of
upwards bullying. In A. Glendon, B. M. Thompson, & B. Myors (Eds.), Advances in
organisational psychology (pp. 93-112). Retrieved from
http://www.informit.com.au/humanities.html

Technical report
Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous
Affairs. (2008). The road home: a national approach to reducing homelessness. Retrieved
from
http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/housing/progserv/homelessness/whitepaper/Document
s/default.htm

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APPENDICES

Sample of communications

Sample of questionnaires

Sample of Permits or authentication papers

Consent Forms, (if appropriate)

Timetable for the research

Data collection instruments

Data analysis

Curriculum Vitae

REFERENCES FOR THIS GUIDE

Aveyard, H. (2007). Doing a literature review in health and social care. Maidenhead: Open University
Press.

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (5th ed.). Washington: Author. Retrieved on July 26, 2018 from
http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/users/reingold/courses/resources/handouts_apa/TablesFigur
es1.pdf

Bates College (n.d.). How to write a paper in Scientific Journal Style and Format (pdf). Retrieved
from http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWsections.html 9

Kotze, T. (2007). Guidelines on writing a first quantitative academic article (2nd ed.). Retrieved on June
20, 2018 from
http://btsau.kiev.ua/sites/default/files/scopus/%D0%A1%D1%83%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80
%20-%20writing_an_academic_journal_article.pdf

School of Natural Sciences Toolkit 2015 Edition